FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEINFO: JON ROLAND 210/224-2868

Constitutionalists Organize

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, APRIL 2, 1994 -- A number of persons dedicated
to the strict enforcement of the U.S. and State Constitutions has formed three
new organizations. The first two are the Constitution Society and the
Constitution Foundation. The purposes of the Constitution Foundation, which will
seek tax-deductible status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
are:

To practice the secular religion variously known as constitutionalism,
republicanism, liberal humanism, or democratic libertarianism, being the body of
political belief which embraces the principles on which the Constitution of the
United States was founded.

To conduct research and public education on how to interpret these
principles and apply them to the development and administration of law and the
operations of government, and to ordinary life, whether in the United States of
America, or in any other country whose political institutions are organized on
similar principles.

To cultivate and practice the skills of republican self-government,
including parliamentary procedure, legal due process, executive administration,
political campaigning, investigative reporting, militia operations, law
enforcement, disaster management, and community organization.

To promote skill in the use of, and proper respect for, the principal
articles of devotion in this secular religion, namely the arms suitable for
defense of the community, the individual, and the Constitution against all
enemies, foreign or domestic.

To formulate, but not advocate, amendments to the Constitution of the
United States, and to the constitutions or charters of other nations, which meet
the needs of changing circumstances while preserving the principles and
protecting the natural rights which are the basis for any well- written
constitution.

The Constitution Society has the same purposes, plus three others:

6. To resist and oppose any laws, administrative practices,
executive actions, court decisions, or political or social customs, which
violate constitutional principles in the United States or any other country, and
in particular the Constitution of the United States as it was intended by its
Framers.

7. To offer support for any persons who may be the victims of tyranny or
political oppression, and to seek justice for them and for their causes.

8. To promote and support the celebration of April 19 of each year as
Militia Day, in commemoration of those brave patriots who have served in their
militias in defense of freedom and the principles of constitutional law.

However, such purposes shall not include advocacy of any particular social
or economic policy, other than adherence to constitutional principles.

The founders of these organizations felt that although there are other
organizations dedicated to the restoration of constitutional governance, most of
them had other economic or social agendas which distracted them from the primary
mission. In the words of one of the founders, Jon Roland, "We want a set of
organizations where people of all political persuasions can feel comfortable,
not just libertarians and conservatives, but also liberals and
environmentalists. The only thing they need agree on is that if there is some
power that government needs to solve some problem, then the Constitution needs
to be amended first to give it that power, and amended in a way that does not
infringe on our natural rights. For the past 60 years it has been a great
temptation, when faced with difficult problems, and when advocates of solutions
to those problems could muster only enough support to pass laws but not enough
to adopt constitutional amendments, to simply go ahead and pass the laws, then
count on compliant judges to ignore the Constitution and allow those laws to
stand. The result is a legal mess. It is time to go back and clean up the mess."

One of the projects of the Constitution Foundation and Constitution Society,
Roland said, will be to systematically review the entire United States Code,
identifying all those sections and clauses that violate the Constitution as it
was intended by the Framers, regardless of whether we may agree with them or
not.

Also formed at the same time is the Texas Militia Correspondence Committee.
It's purposes are:

When the Texas Militia is not called to duty by the President of the
United States or the Governor of Texas, to coordinate the activities of
independent local militia units throughout the State of Texas with one another
and with military, law enforcement, disaster control, and other public service
organizations, and with similar coordinating organizations in other states.

When the Texas Militia is called to duty by the President of the United
States or the Governor of Texas, to assist in the coordination of Militia
activities in accordance with laws of the United States Congress, and under the
direction of officers appointed by the Governor of Texas, under the authority of
Article I Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States, and in accordance
with any laws of the Texas Legislature, under the authority of provisions of the
Constitution of the State of Texas governing the Texas Militia.

In the absence of the organization, arming, and disciplining of the
Militia as provided in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States, to do such of that as is feasible to voluntary efforts by patriotic
citizens.

In explaining the Texas Militia Correspondence Committee, Roland said, "The
only federal law on the Militia is 10 USC 311, which defines it but does not
mandate the States to carry out the organization and training provided for in
Article I Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, nor require able-bodied citizens
to keep and bear arms as did the Militia Act of 1792, which required each able-
bodied male citizen to keep a musket or firelock. That Act needs to be brought
up to date. In the absence of federal or state leadership, it is up to citizens
to organize and train themselves in each local community." Roland went on
to explain that the Framers of the Constitution envisioned the maintenance of a
Militia system something like that of Switzerland. "Such a Militia system,"
said Roland, "serves not only to prepare the people to resist invasion or
cope with disasters, but to bind the people together into communities for all
kinds of civic activities. In this age in which too many people don't know their
own next door neighbors, it is time to break down the barriers of anonymity and
rebuild the community spirit on which our society depends. Able-bodied citizens
should be expected to perform regular civic duties in much the way the perform
jury duty. The Constitutional framework for doing that is the Militia."
Roland explained that he hoped that similar correspondence committees would be
set up in other states.

These organizations will be sponsoring Militia Day, to be celebrated on
April 19 of each year in commemoration of the Battle of Lexington and Concord,
in which local militias resisted an attempt by British troops to disarm them,
and thereby started the American Revolution.